Derek Bowler is an experienced OSINT and digital forensics journalist who heads the European Broadcasting Union’s social newsgathering unit. He leads a team of visual investigation and OSINT journalists who uncover, verify and debunk eyewitness media for major broadcasters.

Derek’s experience extends to cross-border investigations through the EBU News Investigative Journalism Network, tackling critical issues like Ukraine’s missing children, forced assimilation in occupied Ukraine, and the opaque ownership of European football.

Beyond the newsroom, he co-authored the book Eyewitness Textures: User-Generated Content and Journalism in the Twenty-First Century, published by McGill-Queen’s University Press, and created The Agile Newsroom, a Media and Information Literacy (MIL) training model recognised by the Council of Europe for its effectiveness in visual forensics practice.

Derek holds a BA (Hons) degree in Journalism and New Media from the University of Limerick, certifications in Terrorism and Counterterrorism from Georgetown University, and Intellectual Property Law and Policy from the University of Pennsylvania.